So Ends the Interregnum
by Chatty1113
Summary: Emily is now Empress, Havelock and Burrows are in jail, and thanks to Sokolov and Piero the plague is being cured. Corvo will protect Emily until the day he dies, he will make sure no one will use her again. Though Emily is young Corvo knows that she will be a great Empress and help push the Empire into a new golden age. Based on Low Chaos Ending.
1. Chapter 1

**This story is my version of how things in Dunwall would be after Emily **

**was crowned Empress. It shows how the events in the game change the characters **

**and how Emily would be as an Empress. (From Corvo's POV)**

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It was nearly 12 am I hadn't been able to fall asleep; I wasn't prepared for what would happen today. So I just lied awake in my bed reading guard reports on my two _favorite_ prisoners Farley Havelock and Hiram Burrows. God how I hated those men, I had more respect for Daud then those two at least in the end he didn't lie about everything. As I was looking through the reports one in particular caught my eye.

Report #46

Day 2, Month of Songs

Guard: Sam Wassen

Prisoner: Farley Havelock

Today I was in charge of patrolling Cell Block A with fellow Guard Patrick Dostin. At approximately 13:00 hours I escorted the prisoner Farley Havelock to the interrogation room, where I was to stay as Guard Dostin went back to his patrol to relieve the officer that had taken his place. In the Interrogation room was Captain of the city watch Geoff Curnow, and the Barrister that would represent Havelock in his upcoming trial. I sat Havelock into the seat and strapped the reatraints around his wrists, as is proper protocol for the more dangerous prisoners placed in Cell Block A. The Barrister spoke first. "Mr. Havelock, I'm Barrister Stephen Timsh, I recently took over the Timsh Legal Offices in place of my Cousin Arnold Timsh, who was arrested for unlawful sequestering of peoples property." To that Havelock mumbled "I don't really give a flying fuck who you are so long as you can prove my innocence to these damned nobles." The Barrister then told Havelock "That's the thing Mr. Havelock, you have no case. No Barrister in this city would take your case because you have no chance of winning. I suggest that you plead guilty in hopes that you will not be sentenced to death." When the Barrister finished speaking Havelock said nothing. Captain Curnow ordered me to take him back to his cell. I unstrapped his wrists and he stood up. As I reached for my cuffs to restrain him on his way back to his cell he lunged at the Barrister. He grabbed the young man by the throat and said "You expect me to roll over to that bastard child of an Empress and her father, excuse me, Royal Protector. I will show that I'm inno" He didn't finish because captain Curnow stuck him with a sleep dart. I hauled him over my shoulder and left the room to bring him to his cell. I have been told that the Barrister, aside from a bruised neck and strained voice, will be ok.

Formal report Concluded.

I noticed that there was a small envelope pinned to the back of the report. I opened it and on the inside was a letter from the guard that wrote the report.

Lord Protector Attano,

I know that the reports on Farley Havelock and Hiram Burrows are sent to you directly and I would like to apologize to you for not being precautious enough when letting Havelock up. I know now that the cuffs should have been ready for him and that it is my fault that Havelock attacked the new Barrister. I'm also sorry I had to write down his venomous words toward you and Empress Emily. I wanted to personally write my own apologies and let you know that I will not let it happen again.

Regards,

Patrolman Sam Wassen

I made a mental note to visit him and thank him for dealing with Havelock. In truth, I liked when guards wrote personal side notes. It was helpful knowing that they weren't just Guardsmen, but people that cared about their jobs and what they did and when extra effort was put into a report it showed they took their job seriously.

The report had angered me. I didn't care about what Havelock said about me, the accusations were always there, whispers and rumors always circled my name. But to call my daughter a bastard, he crossed the line. Just because she wasn't the result of a marriage and had no formally recognized father did not give anyone the right to call her a bastard child.

I got out of bed and walked over to my wardrobe and got dressed. I decided not to wear my Royal Protector uniform; this was **not** going to be a formal meeting. So I put on a pair of casual black pants and pulled a button up grey shirt over my undershirt. I looked very informal, but I didn't care, this was not a meeting of Royal Protect to Prisoner, no this was going to be man to man, social statuses would not matter. I grabbed my sword and walked into the hallway.

The room next to mine was Emily's bedroom. She hadn't taken her mother's room yet. She hadn't wanted to. She told me that she wanted to make it our room. So, we did, whenever she was sad or wanted to cry she just lied on her mother's bed and cried into the pillow. There were lounge chairs placed by the fire where we would sit and reminisce about the time before Jessamine's death, I would tell her stories about her mother and how proud of her she was. At the end of a long day Emily would be found either looking over the balcony into the grand entrance of her tower, or sitting at her mother's desk drawing just like she always had. As I opened the door to her room slightly to see if she was okay I noticed that her bed was turned down but she wasn't in it. I walked to her mother's room, knowing that's where she would be. As I reached the door I dismissed the guard posted there and walked into the room.

"Corvo, how many people have you killed?" Emily asked without looking up from her seat by the fire. This caught me off guard I was definitely not expecting her to ask that.

"More than I would like to admit to." I sighed.

"Why didn't you kill Hiram Burrows?" She asked.

I looked at the tiny exhausted little Empress and said "It's complicated Em."

"But how? If he killed mother doesn't he deserve to pay for it? I mean, how did seeing him not make your blood boil and make you just want him to pay for what he did?" She said, finally looking up to me.

I sat down in the chair next to her and grabbed her hand. "Emily, I didn't kill Hiram Burrows because that wouldn't have helped anything at the time. I had to expose him for what he did first."

Then she sighed, "Do you think he deserves to die?"

I wanted so bad to say yes, to tell her that its what I would do but I couldn't "That is not my decision to make. You are now Empress and you must make this decision on your own. Nobody will judge you either way. Even though I want to help you, I can't."

"Being Empress is hard. But I know what I'm going to do." She said looking away.

"Well, tell me. What are you going to do?"

"Well Corvo, as much as I want to tell you I can't." She said sticker her tongue out and mocking me. "But I can tell you that its what mother would do."

Hmm, I wonder what Jessamine would have done. Is there any way to deal with Burrows without sentencing him to death? Surely Jessamine wouldn't forgive him, perhaps she would just sentence him to life in prison, which to me still felt like he would get off way to easy. "Ok fine be that way." I stuck my tongue out at her and gave her a smile easing the mood.

"Why are you awake? Its late and you have a big day tomorrow." I finally asked. Tomorrow she would deliver the final verdict determining Burrows fate.

"I cant sleep, I was sitting in here thinking of what mother would do in this situation. What are you doing awake?" she asked in return.

"I was reading guard reports from the prison and there's something I need to address." I told her grabbing the folded up report from my pocket.

"Oh." With that she gave a yawn.

"I think its time you got to sleep little Empress." I said.

She stood up and gave me a hug. "Ok, I will. Goodnight Corvo, I love you."

"Goodnight Emily, I love you too." And with that I walked her back to her room. I closed the door behind me after she got into bed and called over a guard.

"I have business to attend to in the prison, I don't know what time I'll be getting back so keep guard at her door."

"Yes Lord Protector." the guard replied.

"Thank you." I said as I walked away.

With that I walked down the stairs into the main entrance and left for Coldridge prison.


	2. Chapter 2

**So it's short for a second chapter, I know but I hope you like it! Don't worry I'm already working on the next chapter!**

**Enjoy.**

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It was cold outside, there was a breeze coming off the ocean. I walked down into the courtyard area. It was only the second month of Emily being Empress and there was still construction going on, taking down the various Sokolov machines. The huge metal walls that were erected to keep people away were being demolished and Burrows "safe house" was in the midst of coming down. But all of the workers had gone home for the night and the courtyard was silent. The one thing that I oversaw being torn down was the huge statue of Burrows that took up the middle of the courtyard. I made sure that it was the **first** thing that came down.

I walked down to the bridge that connected Coldridge to the Tower and addressed the guard posted there.

"Hello, guardsman."

"Hello Lord Protector." the guard said surprised. It was obvious that he didn't expect anyone to come through and go into the prison this late.

"I know it's late but I have business that I need to attend to. I'll be going to Cell Block A." I told him.

"Would you like someone to take you?" The guard asked.

"No I'll be fine." I said leaving to enter the prison.

As I walked over the bridge I thought of my escapade with "The Loyalists" two short months ago, I always think about it when I cross the bridge into Coldridge prison. "Damn Treaver and Teague to the void, will you?" I whispered to myself as if the outsider were listening.

I got to the entrance to the prison, the walls surrounding the door still showed signs of the explosion I had made to escape. At least there was a brand new door that was much stronger than the one I blew up.

"Lord Protector, what brings you to the prison at this hour, if it is in my place to ask." Said the guard located at the right side of the door.

The guard who addressed me was an elite guard, I could tell by his uniform. He looked me up and down with a judging eye, and I realized he was looking at my choice of attire. I understood the incredulous look he gave me, it was rare for me to not be wearing my uniform let alone go to the prison without it.

I gave a small laugh which seemed to have broken his stare, "I'm here on personal business is all. Forgive my attire it _is_ late, and this is a personal visit not professional." I felt I had to explain myself not because I didn't like being judged, I've been judged since I had this position, but because he was older than me and was with the watch longer than I'd been Royal Protector and I was showing him respect; even if I outranked him.

"Oh, sorry sir, I'll have them let you in." He replied.

"Thank you." I gave a nod to the elite guardsman and a nod to the guard on the left side of the door.

A small door on the huge metal door buzzed open. I nodded at the guards posted at the inside of the door and let them know that I would not be needing an escort. As I walked the familiar path I decided rather than take the guard path to Cell block A I would pass through the small section of Cell block B. I used my Skeleton key to the prison and unlocked the area of Cell block B that held cells 1 through 5. Once I was in I locked it back up. It smelled horrible, I made sure that this specific block was the only one not to be cleaned, and that only one prisoner would be assigned here. Assigned to cell 5. My cell.

There was one difference however, to how the cell had been when I was here, there were no more rats. I approached my old cell, inside was a frail and hollow man. He looked up with a cold hard stare, his eyes held no emotion they were the eyes of a man that had died long ago. I almost felt sorry for him, but as he spoke any feeling of pity I had was gone and in its place pure hate.

"Corvo," He began. "Have you come to spat on my dead body? Well you'll have to wait, I've not died yet. No, not yet, but perhaps tomorrow."

"Burrows, I would never spat on your dead body," I said in a flat tone.

"Really, even aft-"

I cut him off "No of course not that would show that I had any feeling toward whether you lived or died, and besides, what type of savage do you take me for?" Somewhere I swore I could hear the outsider give a chuckle.

"Nevertheless, _you _are the one that came to visit," He retorted. "_I _was just sitting and gathering my thoughts before my barbaric final verdict tomorrow."

"Oh please, neither you nor I have any idea as to what Emily will decide." I said without thinking. "Don't play the victim."

"Oh, I just figured she would have told you. I never kept things from _my_ father." Burrow said, pleased. "Besides I can practically hear the executioner sharpening the blade to the guillotine." He seemed to cower at his own words.

I decided to ignore the father part. "Well keeping things to yourself doesn't make a good spymaster," I said with a half smile. "Perhaps if you'd been able to keep to yourself you could've seen me coming rather than keeping track of everyone else."

"You're a fool Corvo, Being spymaster has nothing to do with keeping secrets. You must tell the secrets that you uncover." He said pleased.

"Well, perhaps that made you _seem_, to be perfect for the job. Either way, you shared your plans with to many people. The sloppy habit you picked up as a child, turned out to be your downfall." I said calmly.

"Well at least I didn't fall in love with a stupid naïve Princess that became Empress and cared for everyone as she did when she was a child!" he screamed back at me, "Jessamines Childish habits were _her_ downfall."

"Perhaps we all have childish habits." I said turning to walk away. As I took a few steps away I thought of how I was as a child, and looked over my shoulder just enough for him to hear me. "When I was a child, back in Serkonas, I would always try to hurt the boys that would wrong me."

"No surprise, all Serkonians are savages…" he mumbled trailing off.

"Oh, and Burrows," I said turning around to look him in the eyes.

"What is it now." He said in a sour defeated tone.

I picked up my left hand and with a sweeping movement whispered "_Hhhoolm", _and with that, a burst of wind shot towards him and he was swept off his feet and blown back against the far wall.

I heard him groan as I made my way toward Cell Block A. As a passed a Guard patrolling the area I said "Patrolman, prisoner B05 seems to have taken a bad fall. Could you get a doctor, we wouldn't want him to be hurt before his bag day tomorrow." "Yes sir, Lord Protector." The guard said. With that he hurried toward Burrows cell.

I smiled to myself satisfied with what I had "said" to Burrows. It was pretty childish of me, but that man brings the worst out of me. It was time to visit who I really came here for.

Now what in the void shall I say…


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey there readers! First Let me say thank you for reading my story it means a lot!**

**But also I forgot to say the whole I own absolutely nothing, the characters are all thanks to**

**the great minds of the people working at the Bethesda Games!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

I walked through the locked gate into Cell Block A, it was much cleaner than I had remembered. There was no dust and trash and rat shit scattered all along the floor, the walls had been scrubbed clean of graffiti, and the cells were surprisingly clean as well. A lot of work had been done since I visited Havelock last month.

"Lord Protector." The guardsman said with a nod.

By the way he didn't question me made me think that the guards had all been informed of my business in the prison and that it was personal. Sokolov had been able to create individual devices that could be carried by certain patrolman that worked like the broadcast system through out the city. It was a small private broadcast system for the prison only, still in testing.

"Guardsman." I said back with a nod. I paused for a moment and remembered something. "Excuse me, but you wouldn't happen to know patrolman Sam Wassen would you?"

"Why yes I do, I'm actually his relief. I relieved him at 20:00 hours, when my shift started." He looked at the ground squinting and quickly added. "Is everything okay? If it is in my place to ask of course. We all heard about him…. what happened I mean, with Havelock early yesterday afternoon. He seemed a tad shaken when I relieved him," He paused. "he wasn't scared just more so upset at himself. Well I suppose."

"No," I told him with as sincere a smile as I could given the way I felt. "don't worry nothing is wrong, he's not in any trouble. I just wanted to commend him, I can understand why he may be shaken up, but I do not feel like he did anything wrong, Havelock is a snake and snakes are always hard to hold down."

"Oh, yes sir, um… do you want me to tell him to contact you.."

"No, I'll just come here to see him myself tomorrow evening at shift change. I really do appreciate his dealing with Havelock."

"Oh okay, or uh… yes sir Lord Protector." The guard replied.

I could tell that he wasn't used to being in the presence of higher ups and noblemen. I wouldn't expect him to be with his working the late night shift all the time. I gave him a thankful nod and continued through another locked gate in Cell block A. I reached Cell Block A, Cells 8 and 9. The Cells in this section were kept in pairs of two so that gaurds could keep track and watch over the prisoners more easily. I walked up to Cell 9, inside was Havelock still asleep from the sleep dart.

"Well the effects should have worn off enough for now for him to be 'woken up'" I mumbled to no one in particular. There was a guard walking by patrolling Cell Block A.

"Excuse me Patrolman would you mind getting the interrogation room ready?" I asked. "With Havelocks tantrum today I feel it would be in everyones interest to chat with him there rather than out here in the prison."

"Yes sir, Lord Protector right away." With that the guard hurried toward the interrogation room.

I threw Havelock over my shoulder and carried him to the interrogation room.

It was a lot nicer, in the interrogation room, than it was last month when I questioned Burrows. It no longer smelled of burnt flesh and blood. There were still very dangerous criminals and foreign spies out for the throne that needed to be tortured in order to talk but it wasn't everyday protocol anymore. The room no longer had a giant portrait of Burrows and rather than a large desk on the platform there was a sitting area with four chairs and a box of cigarettes. There was a table on the far left of the platform that held several interrogation forms, an audiograph player, blank audiograph cards and other miscellanious blank legal documents. The platform was used for meetings with a prisoner and his Barrister it was set up so that the prisoner would feel comfortable enough to talk to his barrister. Below the platform was a metal table that took up a majority of the middle of the space. Around it were six chairs, three on one side three on the other. Against the railing of the platform and at the head of the table was a chair with restraints used for the more dangerous criminals to be sat in.

I sat Havelock down and strapped him into the restraints. I didn't wake him up just yet because I first wanted to look at the wall where Burrows portrait once hung.

On the wall was a new saying that Emily, with Callistas help, came up with. She said it was like something her mother told her once when she asked why she'd always been so busy with her court. It hung in a frame on a very large piece of paper printed in the most intricate of calligraphy. It read;

There must be law, in order for law to work.  
There must be law, in order to maintain stability.  
There must be law, in order to prosper.  
However; Law should be questioned and challenged at times.  
For without challenge the law shall break.

I remember the day she made it the official saying for the Isles. It was her first formal addresses for changing something, her first request at coming up with something on her own. I remember what she said and I am still so proud of her. She signed the paper officially stating that it was to be used in all legal offices and put at the foot of all legal papers. When she signed it she addressed her court, foreign dignitaries, and citiziens that came to see her first decree as Empress. She also had it played live on the broadcast station for all of Dunwall to hear.

_"I hope that in making this official people will recognize the importance of law and leadership. I hope that they will be able to know that these words are true. I want it to serve as a reminder that the empire needs help from its citizens in order to change, to grow, to move forward and prosper. My mother, Empress Jessamine Kaldwin I, taught me this from a young age. She taught me that it is not enough to just care for your people, but you must listen to everyone's voice. Though the throne was taken from her, I plan to take it back where she left off. I plan to not only care for Dunwall and make it prosperous but to make the Empire prosper as well. It may seem like just a small stupid thing, not extremely important, but I would like the Empire to know that order comes from not only a strong leader but from the citizens as well. I may be very young perhaps too young for some to take seriously but today I shall write a new chapter for the Empire one that will include everyone, one that will be greater than any before, and most of all one that will carry on the legacy of Empress Jessamine Kaldwin I. Thank you."_

I chuckled to myself recalling how Callista later scolded her for using the word 'stupid' in an official decree.

I heard a grunt from Havelock pulling me back into the present. He was just starting to wake up. I looked at the clock above to door to see that it was already 2:30 am.

"Corvo?" Havelock said drearily. Opening his eyes Havelock said, "To what do I owe this great pleasure, _Lord Protector._" His voice hung on the last part of the sentence as if he was savoring something about it.

"I'm not here as Lord Protector, Havelock." I responded flatly. His name tasted like poison in my mouth.

"Oh, well then, could you please undo me from my restraints. It feels like I'm being interrogated by the Royal Protector. Have you ever met him? He's a gutless prick." Havelock grinned.

I said nothing as I undid his restraints. With his right hand undone he grabbed for my neck, I caught his arm and swung it around his back in a way that would break his arm if he tried to struggle against me. While holding him like that I undid his other restraint. Once both arms were free I let go and sat down on the other side of the table, he seemed to be in shock at how quickly I was able to hold him back.

"So," I said, "How's prison life treating you? Have you met the Executioner yet? I believe his name is Edgar… on the tip of my tongue starts with a B….. Oh yes Edgar Brooklaine." I gave him a minute for the name to register.

"Did you say Brooklaine?" He said trying to keep calm.

"Yes, Brooklaine, and if I recall correctly he has a sister. Oh wait he _had_ a sister. She was killed. I can't recall her name right now though. But wait wasn't there a Brooklaine in the Loyalists group?" I asked seeing that his usually neutral demeanor was changing into one of fear.

"Y-Yes, Lydia, Lydia's last name was Brooklaine." Havelock said with a shaky voice.

"Oh…. Hmm" I paused and looked him dead in the eyes. "And if I recall correctly you shot Lydia. Shot her right in the head while she kneel facing away from you. Tell me, did you hesitate when you pulled out your pistol? Did you think about her family, people that still cared for her? Or was she just another pawn to you? Was she just completely disposable? Do you even feel remorse?" I asked saying the last part slowly.

Havelock said nothing and sat across from me avoiding my gaze.

I stood up from the table and walked up to the desk on the platform turning my back toward him. He stood up as well and came at me from behind. "_Sol" _I blinked myself behind him and grabbed his neck. With the flip of my wrist my blade was out and against his neck.

"Corvo, you would never do it you're to honorable, always following protocol as Lord Protector." sneered Havelock.

"I didn't come here as Lord Protector remember? And let me tell you the Corvo Attano that isn't Royal Protector, his blood runs cold. He'd kill, if you so much as said anything out of turn. I don't think you would want to meet him." I said to him in a voice as cold and dark as the void itself.

"Corvo, you amuse me…" Havelock began he tried to sound calm but his voice cracked.

I pushed my blade deeper into his neck slicing him just barely as a paper cut would, not enough to draw blood.

Havelock winced and his body went rigid.

"I'm not speaking to you as Royal Protector right now, I'm speaking to you as just Corvo Attano. If you so much as breathe a cross word about Emily, Edgar Brooklaine won't be the one to kill you. I will." I said being filled with pure rage. "I will come in here, and I will stand you up facing me, and I will look you straight into the eyes as I plunge this blade into your heart. Do I make myself clear?" I whispered.

Havelock Shuddered and let out a barely audible grunt.

"DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?" I shouted as I pushed the blade harder this time drawing a little blood.

"Yes!" Havelock said letting out a whimper.

"Good," I said flicking my blade away. "Then we understand, you won't say anything about Emily and I won't severe your heart in two."

"Yes, I understand." Havelock said trying to fidget away.

I grabbed his left wrist and bent it back until I heard it crack. He howled in pain. I whispered in his ear so that only he could hear, "That's for calling my daughter a bastard."

He snorted but said nothing.

I let him go and he turned to me and said "You will, never get away with this." He pointed to his wrist that was turned outward with a wince.

"But of course I will Havelock. Everyone knows that you lunged yourself at the barrister! You did the same to me it was only in self defense." I said savoring the look on his face. He knew I was right and right.

I opened the door to the interrogation room and called for a guard to take him to the infirmary telling them that he lunged at me and I had to twist his wrist to restrain him.

Right before two guards came in to lead him to the infirmary I turned around and looked him in the eyes. I gave him a devilish half smile and saw him like I'd never seen him before. Defeated.


	4. Chapter 4

**Alrighty so thank you all for the favs and follows! It means a lot, I never thought anyone would like to read my writing let alone follow the story :D I just wanna say I'm grateful to you all for making me want to write and continue to enjoy it.**

**Oh and special shout out to my editor and newfound friend JakeShades! **

**Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the chapter, please review I really want feedback on what you think about it and what could be better and all that. **

**Oh and by the way, I don't own Dishonored, it belongs to the fabulous minds of the game developers at Bethesda Games!**

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I walked into the Tower greeted by a warm burst of air that seemed to hold onto my cold face. I was so angry on my way back to the Tower I hadn't even realized how cold I was. The main entryway smelled of sweet Tyvian spices, a welcoming smell. I sighed and looked at a large clock located in between the doors to the grand entryway, 3:45 am, no way am I getting any sleep tonight.

As I walked into the grand entryway I looked at all of the grand oak pews set up facing the throne, the gold detailing on the ends of each one and a blue carpet rolled down the center leading to the throne. Painted on the backs of each pew at even intervals were two delicately painted gold swans facing each other in a turquoise circle, over top of them a crown and in between a golden shield with the letters E K on it. The emblem was the same as her mothers, the Kaldwin family crest, but rather than a J K, for Jessamine Kaldwin, there was an E K for Emily Kaldwin. At the head of the room between to staircases that met up into the grand entrance was the beautiful white throne where my fragile young Emily would have to make the call of whether or not to end a man's life. I felt a break in my heart thinking about how my little girl had the weight of the decision hanging over her.

I decided that because I'm not exactly tired, to check the entryway for entrance points into the tower and areas where one could easily get to Emily. _"Sol" _I blinked up to the ledge above the doors to the entryway to check the vent first. It was unlikely that anyone not marked by the outsider could come into the vents because they were so high up on the ledge but you never really know who could be out for sabotage.

"Maybe Granny Rags." I muttered to myself laughing. I knew she was marked but to the extent her powers went I had no idea.

I made sure that the grate on the vent was secure in place before blinking back down to check the doors off the entryway. All of them were locked. The guards in charge of this had done a good job.

As I was about to walk up the stairs to check on Emily and try to get some sleep I noticed a dark figure on the balcony of Jessamine's old room. _"Rrasho-hhyehh" _I stopped time so that whoever was up there couldn't get away. I blinked up to the Chandelier and was about to blink over to the balcony when the figure turned its head to look at me. Dammit, whoever they are, they bare the mark! Wasting no time I blinked onto the balcony right as time went back to normal.

_"Corvo."_ I knew the voice. It was as smooth as velvet, but at the same time as cold and dark as the void.

"What do you want?" I said in a sharp tone looking out into the entryway. I turned my gaze to meet his dark eyes, nearly black, looking at me in amusement as always. I had only once ever surprised him when I gave Campbell the Heretics brand rather than killing him. I guess he assumed that I would take on my role as "assassin" and send him into the void.

_"May I not just come visit you Corvo?" _He said in his even calculating tone. When he first drew me into the void it sent shivers up my spine, but I was used to it by now.

"I really wouldn't care if you just came to_ 'visit' _from time to time," I said sitting down_ "but _your visits always tend to have an ulterior motive. What impending doom are you warning me of this time?" I said in a sarcastic voice making myself chuckle inside. "Was I right earlier is Granny Rags, going to come and sabotage the final verdict tomorrow?" I said and afterward I couldn't hold my laugh in anymore.

_"I don't believe so." _He said with what seemed like a genuinely amused smile. I'd never seen him laugh… maybe demon-god entities can't laugh.

"But really Outsider, why after two months, would you come to_ 'visit'_?" I asked seriously getting back to business.

_"Your actions in dealing with Havelock and Burrows in the prison were…. interesting"_ He said becoming serious again.

"Well, what can I say apparently I'm an interesting man?" I said in an uninterested tone. I really didn't want this, I just wanted to return to bed and read more reports. "Though, I don't see what's so interesting. All I was doing was addressing a problem." I said with a wicked half smirk.

_"Yes, but there were two things I was interested about. First of all, you've never openly called Emily your daughter to anyone but Jessamine, and second of all you're not usually one to show your rage." _He said in an amused tone.

"What is so _interesting _to you about that, I've been through the void and back in the last 8 months, is it really that hard to believe that maybe I've changed?" I said, realizing that the void remark was actually true.

_"Corvo, I see your future and I know that either you slip into madness from the pressure and rage of what you've gone through, or you may learn how to deal with your rage and continue to e the best Royal Protector _and _father Emily can have,"_

"What are y-"I began to cut him off but he continued to speak anyway.

_"Yes, Corvo, you have changed and will continue to change. Now that you know what will you do with the information I've given you?" _He asked with wonder in his eyes. _"Just know that I'll be watching. This should be fun…" _He said sinisterly.

And with that he dissipated back into the void.

"Hffff" I sighed as I got up from my seat to walk to my room.

I used the side door to Jessamine's room to leave. I walked through the glass doors that led from the library into the hallway and walked to the door to Emily's room. I peaked in and saw that she was asleep hugging Mrs. Pilson, as she always did. We found her doll as soon as we got back to the tower one of the maids had picked up the doll after I was taken off to Coldridge. Her name was Hannah and she kept Mrs. Pilson safe for Emily until she was crowned and named Empress again. Emily stayed true to her word and declared a 'holiday across the isles'… well really only in Dunwall, but that was enough for her. It was called Mrs. Pilson day to her, but to everyone else it was an independence day of sorts, declaring independence from Burrows, Kaldwin Day they called it.

I smiled to myself and sauntered off to my room. I walked in and kicked off my boots then took off my pants and my shirt. I sat my blade next to my bed and put on a pair of night pants and just kept on my undershirt. I fell into my bed and laid there for a moment before drifting into complete unconsciousness.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks so much for the reviews, favs and follows! I seriously never thought my story would take off at all haha I'm sorry for the horribly late update. I hope you like it! Please leave a review if you can!  
Enjoy!**

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"Corvo… Corvo… CORVO!" Emily poked at my face trying to wake me up. I turned over to lie on my back rather than face the wrath of her tiny fingers jabbing at my cheek. "I didn't want to do this" She mumbled to herself "But drastic times call for drastic measures!" With that she stood on my bed, jumped up and plunged herself down on my stomach.

"OOOFFF" I let out a sigh of mock pain. Her tiny frame couldn't hurt me and she knew that so whenever we played around like this she fought as hard as she could. "It seems that I Royal Protector Corvo Attano have been slain by Empress Emily Kaldwin The Great… blehhhh" I said sticking my tongue out and crossing my eyes playing dead.

She jumped up and picked up the hilt of my blade and pretended to stab me in the heart. She didn't know how to undo the lock mechanism and open the blade so she did this to me a lot. "I HAVE SLAIN THE BEAST" she shouted jumping about my bed. I sat up leaning against the headboard and she sat down in front of me.

"What time is it anyway Em?" I asked with a yawn.

"It's almost 6:30." She said with a tiny smile, whenever she woke up before me, which was very rare, she would wake me up like this.

"Why are you awake? You normally don't wake up until at least 8!" I said surprised knowing that she didn't get much sleep last night.

"Well Callista is going around like a madwoman worrying about getting ready, and when she came in my room to put my dress on the mannequin she woke me up."

Right on queue we shot our heads toward the door hear Callista pace down the hallway shouting for Emily.

"Quick, under the covers!" I said in a whisper. And with that Emily scrambled up next to me and wriggled her way underneath the down comforter and the tightly made, unused sheets.

As soon as Emily was snug and hidden Callista knocked on the door. "Corvo, have you seen Emily? She _promised _me that she would wait in her room while I got her bath ready!" She nearly shouted clearly frustrated with Emily. Emily started shaking under the covers trying to contain her giggles. She opened the door and came in the room. "I'm just so wor…" She trailed off seeing I wasn't out of bed yet.

"Well I'm jus-"

She cut me off. "CORVO ATTANO! WHY ARE YOU STILL IN BED?" She exclaimed scolding me.

"Oh relax Callista, I know that you're worried about today and all, I understand with this being only the second formal address Emily has had to make but if you get her ready too early she'll get bored and wander off and who knows if we'll be able to find her in time." I said with a sigh, Emily was shaking uncontrollably now on the verge of giving her hiding space away. "Besides I _haven't_ seen her!" I said in a mildly sarcastic tone. With that Emily started to laugh uncontrollably.

"Corvo!" Callista said pulling the blankets and sheets off my bed exposing Emily.

"Oh no!" I exclaimed. "I have bed bugs!" I softly threw a pillow at Emily.

"I am no bed bug!" Emily shouted hitting me with the pillow. She stood up and put her hands behind her back and held her head high as if she was posing for a regal statue. "I am Empress Emily Kaldwin The Great!"

"Still," Callista said trying to stifle back a laugh, "you will not get 'The Great' added to your title if you refuse to go over your speeches!"

"Sorry Em," I said with a fake pout, "no one can deny the great force that is Callista Curnow. Besides," I said in a whisper, "I hear her Uncle's Captain of the City Watch and he's no man to mess with."

At that Callista laughed and Emily jumped down off of my bed and grabbed Callista's hand. Emily paused at the door, "Lord Protector I order you to get out of bed and get ready!" her words were hard to make out beneath her little giggles.

I stood up out of bed and saluted the little empress. "Yes, your majesty!" and with that Callista and Emily strode out of my room and down the hallway with a laugh.

I stretched and rubbed my eyes with a sigh. I walked across the room to my locked chest, and opened it up. Inside was a lot of old field journals and notes of mine as well as old letters and audiographs. There was a fake panel with a lock at the bottom that led to another layer of the chest, the layer that held what I was looking for. I pushed away all of the papers and unlocked the fake panel and opened it up. There was a small grey box full of bone charms, my mask, the outsiders "gift" 'The Heart of a Living Thing' (What the black eyed bastard had forgotten to mention was that it was narrated or something like that by Jessamine's voice. I hadn't worked up the courage to ask Sokolov if her heart was missing when he observed the final embalming.) and the thing I was after a rolled up letter tied together with a red ribbon.

I grabbed the letter and shut my chest not bothering to lock it; it honestly wouldn't matter if anyone found the bone charms and all. Everyone knew that I was a _heretic_ but I saved the empire so they wouldn't dare say anything.

I undid the red ribbon that tied the letter shut and read it.

_Corvo,_

_I hope that things are faring well for you and young Emily. News all over the isles is that Hiram Burrows has his final verdict next week. I should have put a blade through his skull myself I'll always regret that I didn't. I couldn't have anyway, there was a lot that plagued my mind before you came, but that is for another time perhaps. _

_I would like to thank you for putting off the invasion of the flooded district, I don't know your reasons for it but if it was to give my Whalers a chance to leave than I truly do thank you. I've called off all of my Whalers and any left in the flooded district didn't heed my warnings. _

_Thank you._

_-Daud_

I hadn't responded to the letter yet, but I would have to eventually. Old Serkonan tradition says that if you are spared in battle for respectable reasons you thank the man that spared you and have complete respect for him. I had kind of wished that he would forget this tradition but he hadn't. I still don't entirely blame him for Jessamine's death. He was just a blade for hire doing a, cowards bidding. I'm still, however, very curios by the _'there were greater things plaguing my mind' _I will probably address it when I write him back.

"Uhh, time to get dressed." I mumbled to myself going over to my wardrobe. With so many selections _whatever_ shall I choose? I thought, sarcastically. I pulled out my formal Royal Protector uniform and laid it on my bed. I put on an undershirt and socks and walked out into the hallway to look for a servant. I found one right away.

"Is there something you need Lord Protector?" She asked. She was a servant here back before Jessamine's death but her name for some reason eluded me.

"Could you draw me a bath and set out soap and a straight razor?" I asked. I needed to shave.

"Yes, Lord Protector. I will get to it right away." With that she turned to get the bath ready.

Five minutes later she returned to let me know it was done. I put on a pair of casual pants and a regular shirt, grabbed my uniform and walked over to the bathroom.

I was in and out of the bathroom within 20 minutes. I had shaved but just enough that I still had some scruff, Emily always said I looked silly when I shaved off my entire beard. I walked into the hallway to find a servant to get rid of the bath water. Eventually I found a servant that I had never seen before she was young and had very light blonde hair. When she spoke she had a very thick Tyvian accent.

"Excuse me," I said with a smile, unsure of who she was. "would you dispose of the bath water and clean up the bathroom, I'm finished."

"Yeah, _right _away." She snorted.

This was not good. I hadn't approved of any new servants being hired and especially not anyone from another Isle. She had no proper etiquette which all Dunwall Tower employees must go through to work here. I looked over her and noticed a strange tattoo that was written in Tyvian down her right forearm. This was no servant, someone had infiltrated the tower. I had no sleep darts on me and I did not bring my blade so I decided to act like I hadn't noticed anything wrong until I could get to my room and get my weapons.

"Thank you." I said walking out of the bathroom.

"_No problem._" She said in a sarcastic tone as she walked into the bathroom. As soon as the door was shut I blinked myself into my room.

"Huh, that was weird." I thought to myself. Perhaps the outsider made my blink _stronger _since he was so _intrigued _by my actions lately. Hey I wasn't going to complain. I grabbed my gear and thought about the bathroom and blinked there. I then realized; this was one of Daud's powers. But now wasn't the time to wonder about it. The blonde _servant_ was in the process of emptying the tub when I locked the door behind me, which made her look up.

"Oh, you pig. I'm not going to sleep with you!" She exclaimed. Apparently she thought I still had no idea that she was an intruder.

I blinked myself right in front of her and pushed her against the wall with my blade at her neck. "Cut the bullshit, who are you and what do you want." I stated coldly

She looked at me with a smirk and said "Wouldn't you like to know…"


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey there readers! Sorry I haven't updated in a while College started, so that means my updates are gonna be a bit scattered sometimes! Thanks to everyone that follows favs and reviews it means a lot it validates my silly little hobby of daydreaming up stories XD! Leave me a review to suggest who you think should have sent the assassin! (anyone but Duad!) **

**Well on with the story! I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

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"Yes I would. Now who are you and who do you work for?" I said in a tone as cold as death itself.

"Oh Corvo Attano, Royal Protector, Masked assassin, State Criminal, Lord Protector, _Father, _you have so many titles. Each as mysterious as the last. It took me quite a lot of digging around to find _any _information on you." She said with a wry smile as if she didn't even notice the blade on her neck. "I'm actually _impressed_ by you." She said genuinely.

I tightened my grip and forced her harder against the wall.

"What, Outsider got your tongue?" She asked looking down to my left hand, pinning her to the wall. "It _is_ really a compliment. It's rare that someone impresses me." She gave small wink.

"I don't have time for this." I whispered icily. _"Rrasho-hhyehh"_ I stopped time and searched her pockets and apron for any papers that would show any indication of who she was and what she wanted. Nothing. I did notice that she had no weapons on her, her things had to be located somewhere else. As time went back to normal she looked at me with a confused expression noticing that my wrist was no longer clasped around her neck.

"W-what happened?" she asked her voice breaking. Was she seriously scared by a little black magic? I know how to use this to my advantage_… _

"Wouldn't you like to know…" I said with an evil smirk._"Gohyiss" _I possessed her. If she was shaken by the bend time she would be terrified by the possession.

I heard someone coming and talking but I couldn't make out who, everything I heard sounded almost like I was underwater_. _

_"Corvooo!" _Emily said in a raised voice as she entered the bathroom._ "Oh, I'm sorry miss!" _Emily said turning to leave, I felt relief wash over me I didn't want to break possession while she was here and explain this situation. She turned on her heals at the last second and closed the door. Dammit.

_"Have you seen Corvo, I mean the Lord Protector?" _She asked sweetly.

I said nothing I couldn't talk in this state. I felt my vision blur and the possession start to break.

_"I asked you a question!" _She began losing her temper. _"I demand you ans…" _She looked up eyes wide as the possession broke, clearly confused.

"Damn." I whispered to myself.

"CORVO? HOW DID YOU JUST APPEAR?!" hmm, is that what happens, I always wondered. I gave her a soft smile that said give me a moment.

I turned to face the Tyvian assassin whose name I still didn't know. She couldn't look up and started to throw up. Fuck, could this day have started any worse? I turned to Emily who had gone back to normal she wasn't really shocked by anything I did because she'd seen me use most of my powers.

"Now, Em I need you to run as fast as you can and get Captain Curnow. Then I need you to tell Callista there has been a breech in security, and you **must **stay with her until I come for you." I told her in a stern and even voice.

The situation started to sink in and tears filled her eyes. "Corvo I can't leave you, what if an assassin kills you like mother? I can't go on without you I can't…" She started sobbing and I took her into my arms. The assassin was sitting on the floor struggling to regain her composure. She sobbed into my chest.

I held her out at arms length and looked into her eyes. "Emily, I need you to do this. Please go get Captain Curnow he is in his quarters doing paperwork. Tell him that I need him to get here _now _and that it is an emergency. Then run to Callista, tell her there has been a breech in security, and please please **please do not** leave her side! I will come get you myself, do not go with **anyone **else!" I saw she had calmed down a little bit. "Besides I'm the best assassin and fighter in all of the isles! I took down the Knife of Dunwall with not so much as a scratch!" I said with a smirk trying my best to ease her more. "Now go!"

"Corvo," She said before leaving my grip "I love you so much! If anything gets bad think of mother and I, our _family_." She whispered the last part and pecked my cheek.

"I love you too Em." I whispered back, and with that she ran out the door to get Geoff.

Callista knew what it meant when I told Emily to tell her we had a 'breech in security'. She would take Em to Jessamine's secret room behind the fireplace. It was not on the blueprints of the tower so no one but me Callista and her uncle knew about it. Not even Em knew of it yet.

I shook myself from my thoughts and turned to see the assassin looking at me as if I were the outsider himself. I gave a low and completely evil laugh at how terrified she looked, _pathetic, _I thought to myself. I knew that she had to be part of a bigger cell of assassins, so to say I wasn't weary would be a lie.

"Corvo," It was Geoff. he entered the large bathroom and shut the door behind him. "Emily is with Callista, they are safe." He said easing my worry. "Who is this?"

"I have no idea."

"Why does she look so terrified? What happened?"

"I just showed her some of my advantages in fights." I said with a half smile holding up my left hand and making my mark glow. "She seems to be a bit shaken by my… _abilities_." I said laughing. Maybe I'm going insane…

"Well Corvo, not everyone can be so blessed to deal with assassins like the whalers." He said holding back a smirk himself. It wasn't easy to tell now but he was pissed. I knew the royal guard would never hear the end of this.

"I suppose you're right." I mused. "What should we do about her though?" I asked I didn't want to announce the security breech because if there were more assassins working as servants or guards it very well could scare them off... or worse.

"We need to get _some sort_ of information from her." He said drawing his sword. Using the tip he guided her head to meet his gaze. "How many assassins are there here?"

She looked at him and started to open her mouth to talk and thinking better of it quickly shut it again. She was terrified, her blue eyes seemed distant and she was shaking. Who was she?

"Just tell us your name." I said in a calm and even tone.

"Hannah, my name's Hannah." She spat at me breaking her silence.

"Well Hannah, why do you want to kill a ten year old girl? Because she is an empress, _please _tell me your motives." I said the last part in a sarcastic tone.

"You stupid Serkonan pig, it's not her we're after!" She said in her thick Tyvian accent.

"Then who are you after? I'm getting sick of these games!" Geoff nearly yelled.

She looked me dead in the eye and in a whisper said "You."


	7. Chapter 7

**Alrighty readers, I'm super sorry I havent updated in a while! My grandmother passed away and well, I just couldnt really do anything. Anyhow this chapters kinda short but I really just wanted to get one uploaded so that you all dont think I gave up on the story. **

**I also wanted to thank ****I'm a lover not a hater**** for being a regular reviewer! I really appreciate it. I would really like some more reviews and imput from everyone else as well! Do i sound like a review whore?... Oh well PLEASE REVIEW!**

**I hope you enjoy!**

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Captain Curnow Stuck the girl with a sleep dart and without another word took her down into the interrogation chambers in the basement. I followed after closing the bathroom door behind me.

"I'll be right behind you but I need to do something first." I called out to Geoff as he carried the girl toward the stairs that led to the PA system. Nobody really used those stairs and it would be easier to take her to the basement unseen that way.

"Alright, take your time, do what you need to she'll be out for a while. Don't worry I'll keep watch over her." He said. Then he stopped and turned toward me "Corvo maybe you should get a few of those small devices Sokolov's been working on, the personal PA systems, that way you and I can stay in constant contact."

"Good idea, I'll go see him later." I said with a sigh.

With that Geoff turned to leave. I thought about what he said about the devices Sokolov had been working on. They were small handheld device just a little bit bigger than a tin of whale meat. They worked like the PA system you would speak into and people with a device on the same frequency could hear what you said, but they could also reply. The idea to be able to be in contact from far distances was Piero's, Sokolov designed the device and helped with the blueprints. I remember when Piero came to me with the idea…

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_"Corvo, if I could have just… just a moment of your time…" Piero said trailing behind me as I oversaw construction in the courtyard._

_"I swear Piero, if this is about that damned door to nowhere I will…." I trailed off, I was just frustrated with taking down the wall of light, the monstrosity had already injured five men._

_"Do not mock the idea Corvo it will work some day…" He muttered "Besides that's not what this is about" He said louder, finding courage._

_"Alright so what is it?" I asked in a yell over the sound of the motorized saws cutting away at the metal walls like butter._

_"Personal PA Speakers!" He said in awe._

_"What in the void are you talking about?" I said interrupting his moment of pride. I was being too rude, that's what all this chaos does though I guess._

_"I'm talking about devices that you could use to talk to a person all the way in the prison from here!" Piero exclaimed._

_We walked through the water lock to the back area that looked onto the Wrenhaven River all the while listening to his details about his newest idea for an invention. I had to admit I was impressed. _

_I took a deep breath and thought about all of the things going on. It was much quieter back here and I felt less irritated._

_"So will you?" Piero asked. I had no idea what he was asking I missed the last part of what he said. "Will you approve funding for it?" he clarified._

_"Yes, I think it's a great idea. It will help with security around the tower and especially in the prison. Have two for testing made up in 2 weeks." I said_

_With that he thanked me and walked away mumbling to himself like he usually did._

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Sure enough two weeks later he and Sokolov had two ready to test and they actually worked. Right now they were tweaking some things and making more to be used by the guards. They should have at least two for me and Geoff to use by now.

I got to my room and opened the door. I quickly shut it behind me and walked over to my chest I opened it up quickly remembering that I hadn't locked it earlier and went to the bottom and grabbed my box of bone charms and the heart. I silently wondered to myself if bone charms worked for people not marked by the outsider.

_"Corvo," _ Right on cue. _"Things have taken a turn, have they not?" _

"Not really, no. I expected as much with your visit yesterday." I sighed, I had no time for his riddles!

_"Oh, dear Corvo, if you know me so well then you should know that this assassin ordeal is more than it seems." _He said with a sigh himself. Maybe I'd pissed him off, I basically called him predictable.

I turned up from the chest to face him, he was standing by the fire, with one arm on the mantle and the other holding a glass of my good Tyvian whiskey. When did he pour that? If it weren't for his calculating black eyes you could have mistaken him for a normal person. "Can people that don't have your mark use bone charms?" I blurted out surprising myself, im normally not so forward with my questions.

He turned to me, his face distorted into a confused expression I'd never seen. He cocked an eyebrow and placed a hand to his chin as if thinking things over. _"I suppose so. Though often times the power drives them mad. Is that a risk you're willing to take?" _ He said coldly.

"Well I'll take that as a no. I don't want to risk anyone else's sanity…. You often have me questioning my own." I muttered the last part to myself. What had gotten into me? "This isn't going to be easy is it?" I asked rhetorically, turning my head to look at him.

He turned his head from the fire and looked at me with a solemn expression _"It never is…" _he stood up from the fire and straightened out his shirt putting down his glass of whiskey. _"Corvo, I have a gift for you."_

"Does this have to do with my enhanced bli-" I began but he raised his hand and continued.

_"Yes, as you have noticed, your blink has been enhanced. All you have to do is think about your destination and well… I leave the rest for you to figure out. There are other things as well, call it a gift for continuing to use your… powers." _He finished with a smirk.

"So you're bribing me with new powers in order for me to go against the rules of the Abbey?" I said holding back a laugh, I think he's missed me, if that's possible. "Deal."

_"Well, you know the deal. Find the runes, and I'll enhance your powers." _He smiled seeming genuinely pleased that I accepted his newest 'gift'. _"Emily needs all the protection she can get." _He said in a whisper looking down.

"Wait!" I nearly shouted. "What do you mean by that?" I said in a tone as cold and fierce as ice.

He looked back up and perked up, looking like his usual calculating and cold self. _"You will just need to find out for yourself. As a great assassin once said, 'We take what comes and the rest is void'."_ He said the last part with a smirk and dissipated into the air, gone until he decided to see me again.

"The rest _is_ void." I whispered to myself.


	8. Chapter 8

**This chapter is a tad bit longer than most, I hope it makes up for the really short chapters I've been writing! Anyway... more action will ensue in the next chapter! Reviews are truly appreciated!**

**I hope you enjoy the newest chapter!**

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"Piero, Sokolov, I need to see you now!" I yelled into their lab. The lab was in Burrows old safe house, how they were able to work through all the construction is a mystery to me. This was the main lab as the academy was being used as a hospital to treat everyone with the plague.

As I spoke huge columns and gargoyle like busts of the monsters face were being taken down. I stepped into the doorway and saw them both on the second floor landing going over blueprints. As I walked upstairs Sokolov looked up to me.

"Ah, Corvo, to what do we owe the pleasure?!" Sokolov said in his usual ecstatic yet cunning voice.

"Can I not just come to visit the two smartest men in the world?" I said discretely slipping a note into his hand. I didn't want to talk to them out loud in case another assassin was working anywhere around under cover. No one was around to see me slip him the paper.

Sokolov gave Piero a small nod, cocked an eyebrow and whistled; the gesture he and Piero knew to give if security was breached. Piero cocked an eyebrow and coughed; his sign to say he understood.

Callista, Piero, Sokolov, Geoff, Emily and I had gathered ourselves in my study the first night we moved into the tower and assigned special discreet looks to give one another to say there was a problem with security of the tower and we couldn't speak aloud. The note was part of that plan and I was glad that after two months they both still remember what to do.

"Well men if you would excuse me I must continue to file these blueprints." Sokolov announced. He took some files and as fast as a death hound opened the note up in the file and walked to the bookshelf reading the note as he went. Well at least he's good at being this sneaky I just hope Piero can keep calm.

"So I was coming up to ask how your men are doing in the flooded district." I said looking at Piero.

"Oh, well we, uh… things are going well. No fatalities in the past week. They have been doing well, I… uh we would say that at the rate the men are going we could have the flooded district completely ridded of the plague and infected belongings in a little over three months." Piero answered getting caught up in talking about it.

"Well that's good. It will be good to have the entire city back. What about the water Barriers? Will they be able to be rebuilt? Can we remove the water from the more severely flooded areas?" I asked, truly intrigued.

"We will be able to restore every part of the flooded district aside from Greaves Refinery. Because of the huge population of the infected gathered in that area as well as the declining state of the refinery itself it would be smarter to take it all down all together and work on plans to start the financial district back up at the rail station. All of the infected that were in Greaves refinery are being transferred to the academy to be treated." Piero said beaming with pride of his work, and pride that he was doing something great.

"Well on another note Samuel sent me a letter of his grand reopening of the Hound Pits so I think we should order out the bar for one night and look over plans and make a timeline for the rebuilding of the financial district." I concluded.

"That sounds like a plan!" Piero said obviously excited for us all to be together again.

"Certainly!" Sokolov said handing me a heavy box filled with files. "Corvo, these are the files you requested earlier this week, sorry I'm just getting them to you now but I hope you have everything you need!" He said giving me a discreet wink. "Now, Piero and I must get back to reviewing these plans" He said shooing me to the door.

I walked down into my room and locked the door behind me. I dropped the box of papers on my bed and tore them all out until I got to the bottom where two personal PA systems were sitting. Thank the void for those two geniuses! I slipped them into my pockets and opened the door to my room to leave, being careful to lock it behind me. I made my way down the servant's stairwell until I got to the main entrance. I opened the door and paced quickly toward the kitchen entrance. I saw the main chef advising his group of apprentices and getting things in order for the event this evening that wasn't really going to take place.

I felt sorry that they had taken all this time to prepare and get things in order for nothing. I smiled warmly at the group as I passed to go up the stairs and into the servant's quarters. I didn't pass anyone in the hallway all of the day guardsmen were already on duty and the night guardsmen were sound asleep until they would all be called for, for the event. I reached the stairs that led to the interrogation chambers in the basement where I could hear Geoff sigh in frustration; he had no patience for these sorts of things. I smiled slightly recalling a memory of when we were sent all across the isles to find a cure for the plague…

_"What is taking so long?" Geoff coughed out in frustration. "How long does it take to decide whether they will help us or not, can they just give us a straight answer about whether they've even dealt with anything like this?" His whisper became more sharp and flustered with each word._

_"Don't worry Captain Curnow, this is just how diplomats do things; always on their own timeline." I breathed out, I was used to this. I've had to wait through so many meetings and discussions like this with Jessamine, but it was weird being the one on the outside waiting._

_"Yes, you're right. I'm just not used to this I'm a man of action." Geoff said still rigid, though he understood it didn't give him any sort of patience and by the look in his eyes you could see what little patience he had left was wearing thin. I then thought to myself 'This is going to be a long trip…'_

It was weird to remember how formal we had been only a year ago, always addressing each other by our formal titles. Now he's the closest thing I have to a best friend.

I reached the last step and turned the corner to see the girl still asleep and strapped down into the chair. Geoff was pacing back and forth waiting for her to regain consciousness. He looked up to me and tried to give me a slight smile of reassurance but his frustration easily burned through that façade.

"Here, Piero and Sokolov have been informed of the security breech." I stated firmly, handing him one of the personal PA systems from my pockets. "Did anybody see you bring her down?"

"Nobody, all of the staff were just waking up when I passed through." He replied. "We need to call off the event."

"Yes, but we need to do it without raising any suspicion." I replied going deep into thought on how exactly we were going to call this off.

"Perhaps you can say that Young Emily is too overwhelmed with this only being her 2nd month of being empress, they will accept that and she can just reschedule it for next year." Geoff offered.

"Well I suppose that's a good idea but I don't know how Em would feel about that. - She does not want to be seen as weak. She's afraid that people already think she won't be able to do it because she is so young." I said in reply, suddenly worrying about Emily. _'Don't worry she's safe with Callista.' _I thought to myself.

"I think the people would understand. And also with the Fugue Feast coming up if we do kill Burrows the celebrations may get out of hand."

"Yes but if we don't kill burrows riots about wanting him dead could get out of hand." I said pointing out the flaw in both situations.

"You're right." Geoff said with a sigh. "This is a very delicate situation…" He added in a whisper

This wasn't going to be easy. We needed to figure out what to do and fast. The event would be held in 10 hours. And with the very little information we had about these assassins in the tower that might as well have been 10 minutes.

"Alright, here's what we are going to do." I said looking up and letting out a breathe I had no idea I was holding. "We will lock the door to the cell that she is sitting in as well as the door at the bottom of the steps and the door leading into the room, that way no one but you and I can get in. We are the only ones with all three keys. I will go to check on Em and Callista then I will go to the prison and tell them to hold off on bringing Burrows to the tower. You in the meanwhile need to gather your Elite guards, only the ones you would trust with our lives and tell them and **only** them what is going on. Ask them if they have seen anyone suspicious working in the service area. Then have them go off in pairs to investigate the construction workers. I have files and names of every worker that is allowed on the premises in my office in the safe behind the portrait of Jessamine. We need to keep in constant contact. I will contact you be**four **any**one** can **zero** in on what's going on" I said slyly giving him the combination. "Go through the files and give each pair of guards a few to check in on that person. Anybody that you or your guards deem suspicious needs to be discreetly apprehended and kept in the storage room off the entryway of the tower. Anyone that I do not have in my files is to be apprehended and put in the storage room as well. I would like you to put two guards on post there to keep the people in the room. It is extremely important that these men know how delicate of a situation this is and do not tell anyone what is going on! We will keep in touch with the speakers." I said holding mine up. "Understand?" I said in a superior tone, giving this order.

"Yes sir." Geoff said, obviously happy he wouldn't have to wait around for her to wake up. By the looks of it she would be out for a good four more hours.

"Alright, let's go." I said with a smile tugging at the ends of my lips, I loved the chase!

I locked all three doors and Geoff was on his way to my office to get the papers, then he'd gather up his guards. I thought about the secret room, trying to test my enhanced blink and said _"Sol" _and with the clench of my hand and my whisper to the outsider I transverse into the secret room behind the fireplace. This new blink is definitely going to helpful.

Emily broke her attention from the aquatic scene she was drawing and looked up to me. Callista looked up shocked, I forgot she had never seen me use any of my powers, oh well there's a first time for everything.

"Wh- Wh-, How… C-Cor-Corvo?" Callista said stuttering.

"Yes I just came to check on you guys and make sure your okay. I'm sorry but this was the easiest way to get in here unnoticed" I said trying to ease her.

"Callista don't worry, Corvo has super powers" Emily said rubbing Callista's arm. "Oh Corvo you're safe! You're okay! I love you Corvo please never leave me!" Em said hugging me and starting to tear up.

"I'm okay, don't worry Em." I said kneeling down to bring her into a full embrace. "I love you too, but I'm only here for a little while, we may have to call off the event tonight."

She snaked her tiny arms around my neck and squeezed me as hard as she could. "I don't want to lose you, daddy!" She whispered to me as her tears stained my jacket.

Callista straightened up and came back to be her old self. She cleared her throat quietly and tried to soothe my Em.

"Don't worry Emily, Corvo will be safe! He's the best assassin of all times!" Callista said trying to offer me a smile. She was worried as well, but she was always good at hiding her feelings for Emily's sake. She knelt down on the other side of Emily and began rubbing circles into her back.

"I promise I'll be safe Em." I said, and with that her grip on me loosened and she grabbed for Callista. "I'll let you know when everything is safe but until then try to get some sleep." I said pointing at the beds we had put in the corner.

"Alright, just be safe Corvo, I love you." Em said with a final hug.

"I promise, my little Empress." I said hugging back

"Be careful Corvo." Callista warned with a small sorrowful smile.

"I will." I said a tear forming in the corner of my left eye. It always hurts to see them so worried, especially my little Emily. I turned around and wiped my eye as I got ready to blink away.


End file.
